Bully Protection!

At PAA Elkton, we feel strongly about the bully issue.  Kids that are bullied can't go about their day peacefully because they are too worried about another kids picking on them.  I've heard different studies that have said that between 16-18 thousand kids in America stay home every day because of a bully.  Bullying is bad for everyone - the victim loses self-esteem, the bully does destructive actions that get them in trouble, and the teachers and administrators have to deal with it which distracts from the reason they are at school in the first place.

Bullies are everywhere - here are the 3 types of bullies:
1.  The ones that make fun of people by calling them names and making stories up
2.  The ones that physically hurt other people by pushing or punching and other things
3.  The ones that steal or mess up people's belongings
I'm sure some parents can think of adults that behave this way too.

YOU don't want to be a bully.  People who are bullies usually get bad grades, don't have many friends, and end up in jail.  In addition, laws protect people from bullies and they can be arrested for hurting you or stealing from you.  Bullies are usually people who are picked on and made fun of by older people in their families.

Protect Yourself!
1.  Believe in yourself and have confidence.  Don't let things that people say about you that are not true hurt your feelings!  Remember that they are lying and are trying to hurt your feelings.  If you can, laugh it off.
2.  Use your self-defense sills to protect your self by using the least amount of strikes possible.  You have the right to protect yourself from somebody touching you or striking you
3.  Let a bully know that they don't want to steal your things because they will get in trouble or end up in jail.

Being safe means being smart!

Check out the video!  As a community leader, it is important to take action to help each child be safe and make good decisions! 

Here are the top 5 preventable fatal injuries in order:

1.  Transportation (Cars, bicycles, moving vehicles) - Always wear your seat belt!  never ride your bike recklessly or at night and always watch all cars and driveways as closely as possible.  Wear a helmet and obey all street signs
2.  Drowning - Learn how to swim, never run or play fight/ wrestle violently near water and keep an adult or strong swimmer close by.  Drink lots of water and wear sunscreen when by the pool or at the beach.  If you are in a lake wear a proper vest and never run out on frozen ice!  The most common accident is hitting your head and becoming unconscious in the water.
3.  Fire - Never play with fire, matches, lighters, wall sockets, gas stoves, BBQ's, or fireplaces!  These are meant to be used by adults only!
4.  Poisoning - Do not take any prescription pills or take any medicine without an adult.  Do not play with or drink any chemicals that are underneath the sink or in storage, anytime!
5.  Falling - Always play safe and use the proper safety equipment.  Don't jump off of high things or play recklessly on the playground!

Street Safe Missions

Read these lessons with your parents and family.

Read these lessons 3 times by yourself.

Write down the top 5 fatal accidental injuries.

Show these to your teacher at school so they can inform other students.

Show a friend these lessons.

Recycle, Recycle, Recycle!!

This week's Personal Achievement Academy Lesson is all about Recycling!  It's crazy to hear that over 1,600 pounds of trash is thrown away PER PERSON every year!  What's cool is that studies have shown that each year, that amount is decreased!  You know why?  It's because schools, families, neighborhoods, and businesses are adopting Recycling programs!  Recycling programs are awesome because it reduces the about of trash that end up in landfills and the environment!  It also reduces the amount of energy we use which lowers the amount of pollutants that go into the environment.  Did you know that over 55% of the paper we use is being recycled?? Pretty cool, huh?

At ATA Martial Arts in Elkton, MD, all the students recycle their water bottles and some students even have reusable bottles that they fill up and bring to every class!  A lot of martial arts schools use re-breakeable boards too.  Imagine if everyone in class broke a wooden board every week... that's like a whole tree every week!

Here are your missions for this week:
1.  Find out if your town or city has a recycling program
2.  Get a blue trash can (or paint an old one) to start recycling at your house
3.  Read about which items you can recycle and which ones have to be thrown away
4.  Challenge your family members to throw away less stuff and see if you can reduce the amount of trash bags you fill every week
5.  Find out if your school has a recycling program.  If they don't ask them to start one!

Good Luck!

In the end, recycling keeps people and animals healthy, which is something we can all be proud of!

Self Defense Technique Today

Today in the Tiny Tigers class we worked on a super basic self defense technique that kids should have in their arsenal.  What do you think?  Some kind of kick or punch or joint lock that any kid could use to break the hold of a bigger attacker?  No, even simpler.

This technique is really easy and any kid can do it.  When an abductor grabs a child by the wrist, the child just plays dead!  They yell, "Stranger! Stranger! Stranger!" This causes a scene and while the kid is being dragged along or someone is struggling to pick the dead weight up, it could buy enough time for a someone to see that something is wrong with the situation.

This being said, we would hope that there are people in the world that would report such a sight.  2,185 children are abducted each day according to a study by missingkids.com.  PAA believes that it could be avoided completely or that number seriously reduced if children where taught basic awareness and self-defense drills.

PAA Elkton is dedicated to teaching self-defense and inspirational seminars for children in our area.  Our international network of instructors work together to create the best curriculum in the world to make our community a safer place.  We believe that when children remove fear from their lives, it allows them to become focused in accomplishing their goals.

Become a GREEN Master!

This week's focus is on becoming a "Green Master!"  You know, do your part to improve our environment!



Missions for the Week (10 points for each one completed):

1.  Pick up trash you find outside and put it in a trash can!
2.  Ask your parents to go through any old chemicals that are in your house and take them to a facility that disposes of hazardous chemicals
3.  Get with your friends or family and spend 20 minutes or more picking up trash at a local park or near a local lake
4.  Learn about "composting vegetable waste" and how it can reduce trash and improve your gardens at the same time
5.  Ask your family to walk instead of using the car to go somewhere close to home

Ranking:  
4 or 5 missions = Champion For Life!
2 or 3 missions = Champion
1 mission = Improving